ARLINGTON, Texas — For teams such as BYU, games like these are no longer a crusade.

They’re a reaffirmation — another chance, another Saturday, to remind America that not all great football is confined to a previously chosen few.
Except this wasn’t Boise State last week, playing in front of a home crowd and on that silly blue turf of theirs. This was BYU, being served up as the alleged appetizer on what was supposed to be Oklahoma’s national championship menu.
Never mind the game’s billing. By all other decibels and appearances, this was a road game for BYU. And most of the 75,437 at Cowboys Stadium, dressed in crimson, let the Cougars know that.
But this is what can happen when you dare not to schedule a Louisiana-Monroe or a Florida Atlantic on opening night.
One by one, the Oklahoma team filed into the locker room Saturday night in deathly silence after its 14-13 defeat. The Sooners didn’t look as stunned as they looked frustrated.
After all that had happened, after Sam Bradford’s injured shoulder and the penalties and the fumbles, the night still had come down to Oklahoma’s mighty defense allowing the Cougars to drive 78 yards to the winning touchdown.
“Let’s not take it away from BYU,” Oklahoma guard Brian Simmons said. “They played a great game. They came here and played very disciplined ball.
“Us, on the other hand, we just made too many mistakes.”
Mistakes will cost you victory against a team that refused to lose its poise. Mistakes can also haunt you when your Heisman Trophy quarterback injures his shoulder and has to leave the game in the second quarter.
Bradford’s sudden absence seemed to cast a pall over the Sooners, including the crowd. Into the game at quarterback came an untried, redshirt freshman, Landry Jones.
Yet, Jones’ performance — 51 yards passing — failed to inspire Heisman-like comparisons. His first three possessions at quarterback Saturday netted only 25 yards and ended with punts.
Then, even with the gift of starting from the OU 40 because BYU kicked off out of bounds, Jones couldn’t get another first down that might have made the Sooners’ last-second field goal try more plausible.
To Bradford, the night had to be a nightmare. Last January he made the difficult decision to forego the NFL Draft and return for one more season at Oklahoma. He was roundly and rightly applauded.
But part of the deal, we figured, was that Bradford wanted to lead OU on another march to the BCS title game.
Coming through the tunnel after Saturday’s stinging defeat, Bradford’s head was bowed and his right arm was in a sling.
It made a perfect metaphor for Oklahoma’s night.
Winning coach Bronco Mendenhall made an immediate point of noting Bradford’s injury.
“My hope for Sam Bradford is that he is not hurt too seriously,” the BYU coach said. “Speaking for our program, I hope he returns in a timely manner.”
It was a classy thing to say. But, frankly, all the cards were in the Cougars’ corner. They had come in reportedly as a 22-point underdog.
But it’s time to quit judging college football teams simply by the company they keep.
“Our whole message has been performance-based,” said Craig Thompson, commissioner of the Mountain West Conference. “This is just the kind of thing we’ve been talking to our members about.”
Win, he means, and the argument in favor of future BCS inclusion won’t seem so empty.
“The game was questioned,” Mendenhall said. “Why would you play it? Where might we compare to a program like (Oklahoma) on this stage and how far away we might be.
“I think some of those questions might be answered today.”
Good football teams, the lesson goes, can be found anywhere — and in almost any league.
As the Sooners were reminded Saturday, good teams can be found in the mountains of Utah and, well, also in Fort Worth.
Boise beat Oregon. Once upon a time, Boise beat Oklahoma. And Utah, last year’s MWC winner, beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
It’s no longer a crusade. Just a season opener.